EWAN CHRISTIAN. (Architect)

He was born 20th September 1814; died 21st February 1895. Mr Ewan Christian, the eminent architect, was a Manxman by descent, (Isle of Man Manx) belonging to the family of Christian of Milntown. During his long and busy life he designed about 40 new churches, 200 parsonage houses, numerous schools, country houses, banks, and business premises. He also restored nearly 150 churches But these figures by no means give the full extent of his influence in the ecclesiastical buildings of the last half-century. Mr Christian since 1850 had been the consulting architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of England, His last important work was the addition to the National Gallery, London, to form a National Portrait Gallery, at a cost of £80,000, he received the gold medal given by the Royal Institute of British Architects. In replying he said: " Mine has been a life of independent service, not of exploits. My highest ambition has been that of doing to the best of my ability the duty from time to time set before me to accomplish, and of maintaining unsullied in every sense the high character of an honourable and independent architect. " This describes his character and his aim in life worthy of all respect, worthy of imitation by all.

Reverend W. Holman 1720,

According to the Reverend W. Holman who wrote in about 1720, That the Monks of priors Hall and the owner of the Widdington Hall, Who had their own small chapel decided to build a church in the village, this was erected in the early 12th century, and dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin.

In 1594 the church was in a sorry state of decay.In a Visitation held in 1686 (1.) It was reported thatthe tower of the steeple is cracked.

Things were allowed to go from bad to worse, for the parish register under the date 15th May 1771 contained this entry: the whole steeple from top to bottom, with ten feet in breadth of both sides of thebody of the church, fell down. Three brass bells out of the five were dug outof ye rubbish unhurt,With the tower down there was a big hole in the walland damage to the roof.

To pay for the church repairs the then churchwarden soldthe bells and with the proceeds. built from red brick anew end wall. The roof was patched and a new dovecote was placed on top with a small bell hung in it.

(1) THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

May 31 – July 2

After the angel Gabriel had announced to Mary that she was to become the mother of Our Lord, Mary went from Galilee to Judea to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, soon to be the mother of John the Baptist. This visit is recorded in Luke 1:39-56. Elizabeth greeted Mary with the words, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." Mary burst forth with the song of praise, which we call the Magnificent, beginning, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." We are told that even John the Baptist, still unborn, leaped for joy in his mother's womb. Thus we are shown, side by side, the two women, one seemingly too old to have a child, but destined to bear the last prophet of the Old Covenant, of the age that was passing away; and the other woman, seemingly not ready to have a child, but destined to bear the One Who was Himself the beginning of the New Covenant, the age that would not pass away.

It is this meeting that we celebrate today.

Brass effigy

In 1872

This little 14th century Brass effigy was found

beneath the old stone church floor.

When the brass civilian was discovered it

was still affixed to its stone slab.

After the restoration it was affixed to the north wall of the Nave, where it can be seen to this day

One of the best kept secrets of the medieval churches of Essex is the Green Man.

These old Churches are frequently inhabited by a mysterious carving of an ancient male head, with foliage emerging from its mouth, ears, nose or eyes we call him the Green Man.

St Mary the Virgin Widdington, has its own 13th century Green Man, Its tucked away next to a window in the chancel under hundreds of years of whitewash you can still make him out his bulbous ugly head.

It would be fantastic if we could peel back the years of whitewash and show him off to his former glory.

If you would like to find out more about the Green Man then there is a fascinating book

The Hidden Green Man in Essex by Susan Hegedus, our little Green Man is illustrated in it and well worth a read..

Piscina

Our 13th century Piscina is built into the wall right hand side of the Alter.

A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels and carring away the water.

1903 Window in memory of John Moore Dillon - He shall give his angels charge over thee

From the Village Chronicle

The Rev. court was our vicar, a most remarkable man, and a book could be written about him. He was very old then, and sometimes the same hymns were given out twice, as he swayed in the pulpit. You may recollect the stained glass in the Church of a sundial (very unusual) it was taken out in the last World War and kept in the Old Rectory in case of damage and put under a cushion. One day, forgetting it was there, Court sat in the chair and cracked it, and so you see it like that now, but back in its former place!

Unusual doorstep.In time gone by when funds were tight it was common practise to use anything at hand for repairs

The clock, which cost over £70, was placed in the tower in 1897, to commemorate the 60th year of Queen Victoria’s Reign.

It was presented by the Rector and Parishioners of Widdington

Thanks to P.S for this picture

The building is an open church which is frequently visited by people seeking a place for prayer or quiet reflection. It stands in its own, well-maintained, open churchyard. St. Mary's is now the only place of worship in the village.

Francis Smith 1874 presented the lychgate

Francis Smith 1811-1880

A Lychgate is a covered open structure, found at a church entrance. The structure normally consists of four or six oak posts embedded in the ground in a rectangular shape. On top of this are a number of beams to hold a steeply sloping straight-pitched roof covered in wooden or clay peg tiles.

The name is derived from the Saxon Lych meaning "corpse" and gate meaning entrance. Hence corpse entrance.

lychgates were built from about the mid 15th century. It was the custom at that time for the priests to conduct the first part of the funeral service under its shelter.

The rich were the only people buried in coffins most people were buried in just shroud the dead were carried to the lych gate and placed on a large flagstone or on a bier, for the priest to start the funeral service.

(A bier was often a wooden board on which the dead were placed)

The Great Storm 1987

A wonderful drawing of our Church, anyone know who the artist is?

Widdington (St. Mary) WIDDINGTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union

of Saffron-Walden, hundred of Uttlesford, N. division of Essex, 8 miles (N. N. E.) from BishopStortford; containing 377 inhabitants. It comprises 2087a. 2r. 37p., of which 1375 acres are arable, 337 pasture, and 248 woodland. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £25, and in the gift of W. J. Campbell, Esq.: the tithes have been commuted for £570, and the glebe comprises 42 acres. The church, a small edifice of stone, partly rebuilt with brick, retains several details in the Norman style

THE EXAMINER A Sunday News paper: Sunday 15th November 1818

Marriages 1818

On Thursday at St Andrew's Holborn, the Rev. Richard Birch Rector of Widdington and Bradwell Essex to Elizabeth second daughter of the late William Webb Esq of Great James street Bedford row.